The HVNL Primary Duty: what it means for your business

What the law says

Under HVNL section 26C, each party in the chain of responsibility must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of the party's transport activities relating to the heavy vehicle.

The duty means eliminating public risks, or minimising them where elimination isn't reasonably practicable. It also prohibits a party from directly or indirectly causing or encouraging a driver, or anyone else, to break the HVNL.

Source: NHVR regulatory advice.

Who has the duty

Every party in the chain of responsibility has the duty, not just the operator. Parties include the people who consign, pack, load, schedule and operate the vehicle, as well as the employer of the driver.

You remain a party even if you contract or subcontract the transport to someone else. Handing the work over doesn't hand over the duty.

Shared responsibility

Under HVNL section 26A, the safety of transport activities relating to a heavy vehicle is the shared responsibility of each party in the chain. Several parties can hold the duty for the same activity (section 26B), and each must meet it so far as is reasonably practicable.

Each party has the same duty, but each does different things. What is reasonably practicable can be different for each party. The duty doesn't end when the vehicle leaves your premises. It continues until the journey is complete and the public risks have been eliminated or minimised.

Source: NHVR regulatory advice.

Executives

Under HVNL section 26D, executives of a business that is a chain of responsibility party must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its Primary Duty. This is a separate duty, and it applies to the people who run the business as well as to the business itself.

What "public risk" covers

The HVNL covers risks to the public when a heavy vehicle is used on a road. These include risks to:

• drivers, passengers and other people in vehicles
• people or property near road infrastructure or public places
• vehicles and loads
• road infrastructure
• the environment

Reasonably practicable

The Primary Duty uses the same standard as work health and safety law: do what is reasonably practicable, weighing up the relevant factors. In practice, the measures you take should match how likely a risk is and how serious the harm could be.

What reasonable steps look like

The NHVR's guidance on managing risk follows a simple cycle:

1. Identify the hazards in your transport activities, including the vehicle, the load, the route, the schedule and the driver.
2. Assess the risks those hazards create.
3. Control the risks: eliminate them, or minimise them where elimination isn't reasonably practicable.
4. Review whether the controls work, periodically and after any incident.

Examples from the NHVR's advice show what this looks like across the chain. A packer who packs goods safely reduces the risk of a load shifting. A loader who plans the load and checks the restraint reduces the risk of a load falling from the vehicle. A scheduler who allows enough time for the task reduces the pressure on the driver to speed or to drive while fatigued.